LG Display

Apple did not invest in an OLED specialist making microdisplays for wearables, the company has said, despite reports suggesting the Cupertino firm might be shoring up its smart glasses supply chain. Emagin makes OLED microdisplays with particularly high resolution and which, though little use to the naked eye, when combined with magnifying optics could be ideal for wearable displays.

It was only a few years ago that LG Display wowed us with an 18-inch OLED screen that could bend and be rolled up like paper. Now the company is back at CES 2018 this year with an even more impressive version: a 65-inch OLED TV with the same rollable function and a 4K resolution.

Apple's 2018 iPhone range will include a 6.5-inch iPhone with a different screen supplier than that of the current iPhone X, according to reports out of South Korea this week. Apple currently has one OLED iPhone in its line-up, the iPhone X, while the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus remain with the LCD technology that the Cupertino firm has used some variation of since the original iPhone.

Even though the iPhone X isn't even here yet, new rumors are looking into the future of the brand - far into the future, as a matter of fact. Apple is said to be working on a new foldable iPhone, but such a device may not be here for a few years yet. That may put Apple at a disadvantage, considering Samsung is expected to reveal a new foldable phone next year.

If there were still doubts that Apple would be embracing OLED over LCD moving forward, this new bit of information might dispel that. According to Korean media, Apple and LG Display, LG’s panel-making business, have just reached an agreement into how much OLED displays the latter will supply Apple, most likely for iPhones, next year. This spells some trouble for Samsung, as it now has to compete more fiercely with its rival for a larger share of a contract that will, eventually, benefit its other big rival.

Apple is moving to lock down supplies of one of the most important components for its next-generation iPhone, reportedly pumping cash into LG Display in return for parts exclusivity. The Cupertino firm is, so South Korean sources are reporting, weighing a considerable investment into one of LG Display's production lines, which would be earmarked entirely for Apple's needs. In doing so, Apple could help further shift its reliance away from Samsung.

Most of the time, discussion about display technologies will be limited mostly to their consumer applications. Every once in a while, though, a company will create a new display that isn't meant to be sold, but rather was created as a way of pushing display technology forward. LG Display is doing precisely that today, showing off a new massive, flexible OLED display.

An iPhone with a curved OLED display could arrive as early as next year, according to new reports. Apple is apparently asking its display suppliers - which include companies like LG Display, Sharp, and Japan Display - to ramp up production of OLED panels, according to sources close to the matter. We've heard that Apple wants to deliver a knock-out for iPhone's 10th anniversary, and shipping a model with a curved OLED could be part of that strategy.

Cadillac is getting into curved OLED, with the automaker revealing a new concept car interior that spreads a fresh driver and infotainment interface across several arched displays. Scheduled for a full public demonstration later this week at Monterey Car Week, the Cadillac "new design concept" features at least three OLED screens that the company has co-developed with LG Display.

LG Display has its sights set on the future, and it's one that features flexible OLED displays. At least, that's what the company is hoping, as it announced today that it will pump KRW1.99 trillion ($1.75 million) in funding into a new production line of flexible OLED displays at its P9 Plant in Paju, South Korea. The production line is set to kick off in 2018, with the existing P9 plant being expanded to support it.

LG Display said it was pumping $8.7bn into OLED development, and some of the early fruits of that investment at showing up at CES this week. The company might not have a wide range of products commercially available with the prototype and proof-of-concept screens, but it is looking across more than just living rooms and smartphones for where the panels will be used.

LG really, really wants your next TV, smartwatch, and car to use an OLED panel and, preferably, one that's come off its new $8.71bn production line. The company's panel arm, LG Display, has announced a whopping 1.84 trillion South Korean Won investment into a brand new facility dubbed P10, which will cater for what LG predicts will be blockbuster demand for OLED in a range of sizes.